BAARS v. NETHERLANDS - 44320/98

This judgment will become final in the circumstances set out in Article 44 § 2 of the Convention. It may be subject to editorial revision.

The European Court of Human Rights (Second Section), sitting as a Chamber composed of:

The case originated in an application (no. 44320/98) against the Kingdom of the Netherlands lodged with the European Commission of Human Rights (“the Commission”) under former Article 25 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”) by a Netherlands national, Mr Jacobus Johannes Marie Baars (“the applicant”), on 10 September 1998.

The applicant was represented by Mr A.J.L.J. Pfeil, a lawyer practising in Maastricht. The Netherlands Government (“the Government”) were initially represented by their Agent, Mrs J. Schukking of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, and in the final stages of the proceedings by their Acting Agent, Ms H.L. Janssen of the same Ministry.

The applicant alleged a violation of Article 6 § 2 of the Convention in that, following an inconclusive trial, a judicial decision in subsequent proceedings nonetheless contained a clear statement, based on findings resulting from the conviction of another person, that he was guilty.